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<\/p>\nYour first year at university: dedication, hard work and preparation feel like a memory of the past. Now you’re stuck in a prison-sized room with people coming and going, never knowing who will defer the rest of their year.<\/p>\n
The pandemic turned the world upside down, putting your original dream of university on hold. Now a university life you never expected, feeling trapped and alone. You\u2019re wondering if it was all worth it.<\/p>\n
The University of Manchester has recently been criticised for the handling of its students\u2019 mental health concerns, with many protesting and claiming they have been given little support.<\/p>\n
One student who feels let down by the education system sat down with NQ reporter Allen White.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hannah (not her real name) talked through her experience around mental health and the support given following the loss of her friend in late 2019.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWhen we moved into student accommodation, we were taught about what to do and what not to do if there\u2019s a fire, or if you\u2019re struggling academically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are posters in the accommodation and around the university on where to get more information for this, but there is nothing raising awareness of what to do if you or someone else is struggling with mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho do you call? How do you comfort them? This basic information should be plastered around accommodation and the university to stop a young person from struggling and contemplating taking their own life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think universities should consider a mandatory mental health talk, which guides you through how to acknowledge symptoms, what to do if you believe someone is in danger and who to call.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support we got from the university was shocking. One of the paramedics decided to call the university on our behalf, urging them to come down and get us as we were not in student accommodation.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir reply was something along the lines of \u2018we can\u2019t come down because they\u2019re not in accommodation provided by us\u2019. So, we were left for around two hours standing and crying hysterically outside of our house, not knowing where to go or what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Counselling is provided by universities to help with students\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n Hannah said: \u201cThe counsellor we spoke to was lovely and she sounded very promising about all of us receiving counselling when we got back, but this was not the case. <\/p>\n \u201cThe counsellors weren\u2019t even trained for bereavement, so when I attended my first and last session, I was told, \u2018we\u2019re not here to talk about her\u2019. They didn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n Universities across the country have been criticised during the pandemic for the lack of support for students. <\/p>\n One survey found 85% of students\u2019 mental health affected by Covid-19, with 95% believing it will have an influence on their grades.<\/p>\n Hannah said: \u201cOne lecturer advised a friend to drop out when she asked for help.<\/p>\n \u201cThree months later, we contacted the chancellor of the university asking for a meeting to discuss what had happened.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discussed our experience with the university and what we believe they could do to help students more. We\u2019re unsure of whether or not any of the recommendations have been put in place\u201d.<\/p>\n In October, the death occurred at the University of Manchester of student Finn Kitson. His father took to social media to rebut claims his son\u2019s death was not covid-related, stating \u201cwith little support, then you should expect that they suffer severe anxiety\u201d.<\/p>\n Laura Leggett, a senior mental health nurse speaking around mental health during the pandemic, said: \u201cFrom practice, I saw that initially people\u2019s mental health was improved or steadied by the lockdown.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople no longer had the pressures of work, study, school runs or social expectations. Initially, we saw a drop in referrals to mental health services, but this could also be down to people\u2019s avoidance and worries about contact with NHS workers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing an increase of mental health difficulties which is complicated by poverty, lack of employment, social deprivation, lack of face to face informal support from family and friends, the threat of further restrictions, family tensions and domestic violence and the impact of drug and alcohol use\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your first year at university: dedication, hard work and preparation feel like a memory of the past. Now you’re stuck in a prison-sized room with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1300,"featured_media":5230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4972,1],"tags":[3828,421,70,9],"class_list":["post-5234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorised","tag-covid-19","tag-depression","tag-mental-health","tag-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/wordpress.satellite.mmu.ac.uk\/northernquota-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/437\/2020\/12\/img_20201210_182550_158.jpg\")
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